“Ni siquiera la aparición de la televisión pudo con ella [com a rádio] – como algunos con pesimismo habían prometido –, antes al contrario, la radio supo adaptarse a unas nuevas circunstancias y satisfacer necesidades distintas de modo que la venta de aparatos y los índices de audiencia, lejos de disminuir, aumentaron casi sin excepciones”
Merayo Pérez, A., pág.313Agora será comercializado em Portugal pela Optimus (informação divulgada pela agência de comunicação):
"OPTIMUS LANÇA TELEMÓVEL COM iTunes· Dia 27 de Outubro nova Campanha multimeios, com um investimento de 1.5 milhões de Euros
A Optimus é a única operadora de telecomunicações móvel nacional a lançar o novo telemóvel com iTunes – o Optimus Zone Motorola ROKR E1, um equipamento ímpar que alia iTunes e telemóvel.Este exclusivo da Optimus caracteriza-se pelo facto de possuir um display e navegação idêntico ao iPod, que foi desenvolvido para permitir a sincronização para o telemóvel dos downloads já feitos a partir do iTunes no PC. A existência de uma tecla dedicada torna ainda o acesso ao leitor de iTunes muito rápido e simples. Com uma capacidade para mais de sete horas de música, som surround e auriculares stereo, o Motorola ROKR E1 torna-se o telemóvel ideal para poder andar sempre com as músicas preferidas no bolso.A propósito deste texto, em que se percebe a intenção de algumas rádios dos EUA de tentar reagir ao fenómeno do iPod (em sentido geral) com um alargamento da oferta de música, penso fazer sentido esta reflexão: há obviamente podcasts musicais, mas não é pela música que o podcasting pode fazer a diferença - e se está a impor.
O podcasting, além de demonstrar uma vontade de contrariar a formatação excessiva e a necessidade de alternativas na oferta audio actual, significa um regresso à voz. Ao toque humano. Quem se predispõe a gravar conteúdos audio, para serem ouvidos via internet, não o vai fazer para replicar simplesmente uma música. Há sempre uma voz (pelo menos), mais ou menos improvisada, mais ou menos sistematizada, mais ou menos prolongada. E quem os ouve é porque quer vozes - não apenas música.
O regresso à voz, que os podcasts indiciam, é o melhor sinal para a rádio do futuro. Uma rádio com menos música (pelo menos, menos música a metro) e mais gente dentro.
O fabricante de automóveis General Motors acaba de anunciar que vai incorporar milhão e meio de auto-rádios com adaptadores de recepção para uma das duas empresas de rádio por satélite nos EUA, a XM Satellite Radio. Isto é muito importante para o mercado rádio, porque mostra que o satélite é uma alternativa credível.
"General Motors Increases Commitment to XM Satellite
Massive auto manufacturer General Motors has recently increased its in-dash commitments to XM Satellite Radio. The company just indicated that it would place 1.55 million XM-compliant, factory-installed receivers in its 2006 models, a 90 percent saturation rate. GM previously shipped 1.4 million XM-ready automobiles in 2005, and 1.17 million in 2003. "GM was out in front of the satellite radio movement and our customers have benefited enormously," said GM North America vice president Mark LaNeve. "We equip more GM vehicles with XM than any other manufacturer. Nobody else comes close."
For XM, the GM relationship couldn't be more important. The satellite leader recently crossed the five million subscriber mark, and a substantial number are coming from the GM partnership. For the satellite radio industry overall, the trend is becoming increasingly obvious, as car manufacturers are now including a satellite-ready receiver in a large percentage of new models. Whether that alone will create a long-term industry is unclear, though the automobile pre-installations lower the barriers tremendously for new subscribers. Most notably, a pre-installed, in-dash system means that consumers can instantly activate service over the phone or internet, a development that will help to move both XM and Sirius past the early adopter."
Uma empresa norte-americana consultou 35 mil utilizadores de sites de rádios na internet e concluiu que a maior parte usa essas consultas para ouvir emissão streaming e para fazer descarregamentos (podcasts). E não para ler noticias ou outras informações ou para participar em concursos.
O estudo aqui.
É um exclusivo da Rhapsody.
"RealNetworks recently secured a major content exclusive involving Carlos Santana. As part of the deal, brokered with Arista Records, Rhapsody subscribers have been given access to an upcoming Santana album prior to its November 1st release date. The album, titled All That I Am, will also come packaged with an exclusive live performance of the track "Foo Foo". Additionally, RealNetworks will exclusively stream a day-of-release performance by Santana at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. All That I Am is the 38th album release from the guitar god, and most of those titles are available on the Rhapsody application. The concert begins at 8pm EST on November 1st, and can be accessed at rhapsody.com/santana.
Exclusives have come to define the digital music space, though Santana represents a prized plum. The artist has a massive following that spans multiple age groups, the result of a huge comeback engineered by Clive Davis. Meanwhile, other big exclusives could be ahead for RealNetworks, which now has a large pot of cash following an out-of-court antitrust settlement with Microsoft. Exactly how those funds will be used remains to be seen, though RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser is likely to use the cash influx to heavily promote the Rhapsody brand." (Digital Music News)
A rádio por satélite, beneficiando das suas vastas possibilidades, mostra que pode posicionar-se para o futuro. Competindo com a rádio na internet e, principalmente, encontrando ofertas especializadas que vão ao encontro daquilo que podem ser os trunfos dos leitores digitais de música.
A Sirius vai lançar uma rádio só com Bruce Springsteen (e não é caso único): " Fans of The Boss will soon have a station of their own, courtesy of Sirius Satellite Radio. Starting November 1st, the satellite underdog will open a channel focused entirely on Bruce Springsteen, a move that will loosely coincide with the reissue of the classic album Born to Run. The station, which will be called "E Street Radio," will offer rare cuts, live performances, interviews, and album tracks from the massive Springsteen catalog. Scott Greenstein, president of Entertainment and Sports at Sirius, pointed to the channel as "the most comprehensive presentation ever of Bruce's music and a true inside look at the work and artistry of an American icon."
"... recent report covering Warner Music Group, Morgan Stanley sounded an optimistic tone".
Um excerto: «Paid downloads enjoyed a nice growth spurt during the first half of this year, and that has helped to build a more bullish tone among analysts. "We have increased our assumptions for the digital recorded music revenues in 2006 by $30 million to $140-145 million," Morgan Stanley states, while also offering a longer-term projection. "Total digital revenues (recorded music + publishing) should grow from $165 million in 2005 to $750 million in 2010."»
Quando já se fala que os downloads (e a música digital, de uma forma geral) vão acabar com a rádio de música.
Em Londres, dia 24 de Novembro, o assunto vai ser amplamente discutido (tirei do programa oficial):
"TECHNOLOGY KILLED THE RADIO FORMAT...?
How are music radio stations responding to the huge growth in availability of music? Is the traditional music policy/format still relevant in a world of iTunes, Napster, 40GB of music in your back pocket, online personalized juke boxes and on-demand radio listening? How should linear radio react to this seismic shift in the availability of music and content? What do our listeners expect from music radio now, and what can linear radio do to keep people tuned in? Panel discussion with contributions from both sides of the divide, including Napster’s Jeff Smith (ex-Radio 1).This is the year that podcasting and on-demand media consumption have started to go mainstream. But what does this mean for the radio industry? Where kind of opportunities and threats does on-demand content offer in terms of making money, listener loyalty, reaching new audiences, managing costs, rights, formats and production issues? And then there's the question of measuring the audiences"
(O site da Radio Academy apresenta isto como uma novidade. Não percebi se é a mesma coisa que a TSF, por exemplo, tem ao disponibilizar os ultimos noticiários, se é allgo mais complexo, mas aqui fica a informação:
"Virgin launches on-demand news bulletins
Virgin Radio has become the first UK commercial radio station to make news bulletins available online throughout the day. The latest daytime news bulletin are available at www.virginradio.co.uk, enabling listeners to hear the latest headlines and news stories across the day whenever they log on.
Mais aqui:
"Virgin Radio launched this free service in response to listener demand for additional news. On July 7th 2005, Virgin Radio’s online listening figures rose by 20% as the UK public tuned into the station as a trusted news source for the latest developments on the London bombings. The station reacted quickly to provide a 10 minute rolling news service ensuring listeners were kept in touch across the course of the day."
"The first half of 2005 was characterized by a large percentage increase in paid music download purchases. Specifically, paid download levels in the US increased by 170 percent when compared to the first half of 2004. But will that be enough to sustain an industry? Analysts at Fulcrum Global Partners LLC recently raised some concerns. "Despite the improvement in digital, the RIAA data indicates that the dollar value of manufacturer shipments (physical and digital units combined) declined about 3 percent," the analysts noted, pointing to a sagging pre-recorded CD sector. "We expect physical music sales to continue to decline as retailers particularly big box retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City scale back floor space devoted to music and/or begin to pressure wholesale pricing, particularly as they are capturing less and less market share from music specialty stores."
Clearly CD sales are in trouble, though the larger question is whether digital revenues can eventually replace a declining physical market. The Fulcrum analysts remained bearish on the prospects. "While we are intrigued that consumers who felt music was too expensive or too hard to find are coming back into the music buying population, we are increasingly concerned that the ability to buy individual songs (vs. albums) combined with the ease of theft...will result in digital sales not offsetting physical declines." Meanwhile, the analysis also pointed to softer-than-expected digital sales in the third quarter. The group noted that paid downloads for the most recent quarter are only 12 percent above Q1 sales, and 3 percent above Q2 returns. "We are surprised that weekly digital downloads have not increased rapidly throughout 2005, given how early the industry is within its digital migration," the report states. Currently, physical sales account for 94 percent of overall industry revenues, while rapidly expanding digital sales now account for 6 percent of the pie."
(via Digital Music news)
"New Research Ranks Top Mobile Music Devices
Europeans are still miles (or kilometers) ahead of Americans in terms of mobile music adoption, but which devices are leading in each region? According to a recently released report by mobile data firm Telephia, the Motorola V710 is the most sought-after device among US music fans, followed by the Motorola MPX200, Handspring Treo 650, Sony Ericsson Z500, and the Sony Ericsson S700. In Europe, a much different mix has emerged, as music fans pointed to the Nokia 6230 as a favorite, followed by the Samsung SGH-D500, Sony Ericsson K700, Nokia 6630, and Sony Ericsson K750.
Meanwhile, the gulf between US and European mobile music users seems wider than ever. According to the report, Europeans are four times as likely to listen to music on their MP3-enabled phones than their American counterparts. While that difference may seem predictable at this point, Telephia also found that the rate of adoption on new music phones was glaringly higher in Europe. "Almost two years ago, in Q1 2004, both Europe and the US showed a one percent penetration rate of music phones among mobile phone subscribers," the report asserts. "The latest Telephia figures from Q3 2005 show that 14 percent of European mobile phone subscribers now own a music phone, but the penetration rate for US has increased only slightly to two percent." Telephia blames several factors for the difference, including a lower number of available music-focused phones in the US, and the absence of a well-established, high-speed delivery infrastructure. "With the availability of 3G services in Europe, adoption and utilization of applications like mobile music will further accelerate," explained Kanishka Agarwal, vice president of New Products at Telephia. "It is likely that advanced infrastructures will serve as a catalyst for increased traction in the US market.""
(via Digital Music news)
"Motorola recently revealed plans to distribute a podcast for ROKR owners. While that may sound like a me too, the podcast comes with a unique extra twist it contains legitimately-licensed music by signed acts. The podcast was originally slated to go live on Monday, though the company still has a coming soon notice on its site. The transmission was recorded in New York in September, with hip-hop star Common and DJ Gilles Peterson emceeing the experience. It takes place at a time when digital deals to allow legitimate music use in podcasts are in their infancy, giving Motorola a nice window to shape the future of the medium. Meanwhile, these types of licenses for digitally-distributed music content were directly encouraged by the European Commission as part of its recent recommendations for a pan-European music licensing system.
Following the release, two more podcast updates are planned. In one, music writer Robert Elms and DJ Bobby Friction talk listeners through Londons most influential music venues. The third update features DJ/actor/MC Ramon Rodriguez and journalist Tom Terrell on a tour of New York's five top nightspots. Elsewhere, Seattle-based mobile music provider Melodeo has furthered its entrance into mobile-based podcasting, or "mobilcasting". The company recently made its Mobilcast application available for the RAZR, ROKR, and 5 other phones by Nokia and Samsung, part of an expansion that also includes new podcasting content. "Our catalog of podcasts is growing at an amazing rate," said Stan Sorensen, senior director of Product Management & Marketing at Melodeo."
(via Digital Music News)
"O director da TSF anunciou igualmente a criação de um espaço semanal intitulado "rádio.com", dedicado ao "podcasting", que, explicou, "está para as rádios como os blogues estão para a imprensa". Este serviço permite ao cidadão construir a sua própria rádio, "escolhendo as suas músicas preferidas ou fazendo críticas de filmes, por exemplo", acrescentou."
E a TSF poderá ser a primeira rádio em Portugal a oferecer conteúdos para podcasting: "À margem da apresentação destes novos programas, José Fragoso anunciou ainda nesta conferência de imprensa que a TSF passará a disponibilizar brevemente no seu site a possibilidade de os utilizadores fazerem dowloads de vários conteúdos emitidos diariamente pela estação".
"P2P music sites closing doors in legal fallout
Popular file-sharing site WinMX.com ceased operating and the New York office of another, eDonkey.com, appeared to be closed, in the continuing legal fallout among underworld peer-to-peer music services, industry sources and users said Wednesday. The turmoil among file-sharing networks follows the landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June that held anyone who distributes a device used to infringe copyright is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by others. In the wake of the decision, the trade group Recording Industry Association of America last week sent out "cease-and-desist" letters to seven file-sharing groups. A spokeswoman for the RIAA declined to name the targets. (Reuters)"
(via Hollywood Reporter)
" CNN anuncia que o modelo de 30 GB [do iPod] é capaz de arquivar 7,500 músicas, ou 25.000 fotos, ou 75 horas de video. E já se começa a pensar em tirar partido desta nova feature. Por exemplo, a série "Desperate Housewives" já está disponível no iTunes, por $1.99 cada episódio - ideal para ver a caminho do trabalho."
A rádio, a rádio que temos, ainda não percebeu que está condenada a médio prazo(é apenas a minha opinião). Os que hoje procuram a rádio para ouvir a música acabarão por deixar de o fazer (até porque, com menos ouvintes, a rádio terá menos receitas e assim menor capacidade para investir).
A rádio do futuro terá de ser outra coisa. O quê? Só vejo um caminho: o regresso à palavra, àquilo que a máquina não sabe fazer, à inteligência...
E pelos vistos não sou o único a pensar assim: "Porque é que vou ouvir rádio, e esperar que uma emissora passe aquela música que gosto, se posso escutar o que quero a qualquer momento?A rádio Portuguesa terá de apostar noutros formatos, que não o «muito mais música, menos palavra»."
[continuar a chamar leitores digitais de musica a estes aparelhos começa a ser um eufemismo...]